The Darkness Within
Chapter 1: Join us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riku slowly opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again because of the bright light above him. 'Wait...a light?' Riku asked himself as he opened his eyes once again, and sure enough it was a light. Not the light that Mickey used on his Keyblade, but a real light that came from a light bulb. 'Mickey... Where's Mickey?' Riku's mind asked causing him to bolt up right. Riku grunted in pain as he griped onto the arm he used to push himself up. It wasn't just his arm though; his entire body ached in pain.
"Where am I?" Riku asked himself, just barely speaking above a whisper.
"Hey look! Mister darkness is finally up," A male's voice said jokingly as Riku looked around the large room. In front of him was a pair of large wooden doors, carved beautifully, and on each side of them stood a suite of armor. He continued to look around the room to find a staircase on each side of the room that met to the entrance of a hall. At the center, where the stairs met, there was a fountain with a dragon like monster spitting out water. Riku's aqua-blue eyes grew in horror as he realized this place was none other than the entrance hall to Hallow Bastion.
"W-what... how did I get here?" Riku stuttered as he slowly stood up receiving a jolt of pain from his left leg.
"You don't remember?" A males voice asked. Riku looked to his left to find a man in a black zip-up robe with a hood covering his face walking slowly down the stairs.
"I was knocked out. What do you expect me to remember?" Riku spat.
"Looks like we got ourselves a smart-ass guys," The man laughed as he reached the bottom of the stairs, smiling at the silver haired boy.
"Not another one." Riku looked to his right to find a woman looking figure walking down the stairs in the same black robe as the first one. Her hood was also pulled up so Riku couldn't see her face, but what he could see was her red lips that formed a frown on her smooth pail skin.
"Shut up!" The first one yelled.
"Did I say it was you?" She asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs. The first man scowled over at her, and Riku was sure if he could see his eyes he would have been glaring daggers at the woman.
"Both of you shut up!" Another man yelled as he walked down the staircase to the right, "Nobody wants to here you two fight right now." The man was also in a black rob, his face concealed in the hood, and behind him was another man dressed the same way.
"Nobody wants to listen to you either!" The man walking behind him spat.
"Why don't you go back to being silent, you know, the way you always are." The man in front of him growled.
"Why don't you make me?" Riku stood in silence as he watched all four of them yell at one another, and was surprised that they didn't break out into a fistfight seeing the tempers they had.
"Quite!" Riku turned around to find yet another man in a robe standing at the top of the stairs. His voice was deep and menacing, and right away Riku knew that that was the man who attacked him and Mickey.
"Who are you people?" Riku asked as he looked around at each of them. He turned back around after hearing boots slamming on the ground behind him.
"Why Riku, can't you see that you're one of us?" The man asked, now standing in front of him.
"Yeah, like family," The first guy chuckled as he draped his arm over Riku's shoulder lazily.
"I'm not one of you, and I'm definitely not your family!" Riku yelled as he shock the man's arm off of him, "If I was I would disown you." This made them all of them laugh except the one who came in fourth, only the corner of his lip twitched, showing little amusement.
"Riku," the fifth one sighed, "It's not that simple. You were destined to be one of us, and you always will be. There's no getting out of it. You are needed."
"You told me that before, but you haven't explained to me why."
"We're all like you, Riku. We are lost hearts, and together we serve the one who has saved us, the one who has a purpose for us. We're known as the Unknowns, or the lost ones, call us whatever you like." He explained, "It took us a while to find you, but our leader will be pleased that we did. Now you can take your place as 'The lost heart of Darkness'." Riku glanced around at them, hoping this was just a dream that he'd wake up from. He didn't want to be in this nightmare that was mocking him.
"No... No, I'm not one of you!" Riku yelled, "I never will be!"
"It's okay Riku, I didn't want to join at first either," The forth one said as he walked over to him, "But it's quite wonderful once you join. Our leader will increase your abilities-"
"You'll become invincible," The third one added.
"Here, take your weapon." Riku looked over at the fifth man to find his black Keyblade floating in between the man's black-gloved hands by an unseen force. Riku's eyes grew in horror as he backed away from it.
"No... I thought I got rid of that. How did you get it?"
"Our leader found it for you. Here take it."
"Get that thing away from me!" Riku shouted as he ran out of the center of the circle they had created around him, "I want nothing to do with you, or that... that memory from hell you call a weapon!"
"It's part of you Riku, get used to it," He laughed as he grabbed the handle and it disappeared. When it reappeared in Riku's hand he quickly tossed it to the ground and backed away from them even more.
Riku then remembered about the vortex that he used to use to travel around and how he wasn't able to use it in that dark world, but maybe now since he was out of that strange place he could get away from these freaks. He didn't care where he was about to go as he summoned up the power to open a ripe in this world to another, and without a word he left through the vortex he had created. The others stood there in silence, a little stunned that he had left so soon. Didn't he want answers?
"Well, that was awfully rude of him," The woman spat, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Our leader won't be very pleased in this," The fifth guy growled as he glared at the four people in front of him.
"You want me to chase after him?" The first man asked.
"No, leave him alone... for now," The man said as he turned and walked to the stairs, "We have more important things to deal with, like the plan that's in store for us." All of them fallowed the man and left the room without saying another word.
~~~~~~~~
Once Riku exited the vortex he dropped to his knees, just the sight of that Keyblade brought back horrible memories. He knew he couldn't keep the memories and thoughts away; they would always be there. They would always be a part of him, like that damn Keyblade he was cursed with. Now, on top of all of that, he was this 'lost heart of darkness' person. Would he be forever cursed with the heartless? Was there no way of escaping? Like the darkness in Kingdom Hearts, he could never escape what fate had given him, or better yet what he had given himself.
"I guess this is what I get for being so stupid." Riku cursed to himself some more as he stood and looked around at his new surroundings, "Where the hell am I now?" Riku looked up at the large, metal doors in front of him and above the doors there was a large neon sign that read "Skylight City". A bolt of lightning lit the dark night's cloudy sky fallowed by a clap of thunder. A drop of water, and then several more, hit Riku before a down poor started.
"Some skylight," Riku mumbled before he pushed one of the doors open and walked in. Immediately tall buildings lit with lights and neon signs met him. The streets were empty and some stores were closing as he passed them by. At the moment he was looking for any place he could stay that was dry, but what place could he stay at that didn't ask for munny.
As he passed by a window to one of the shops he noticed something different about him. He stopped to look at his reflection in the window, and indeed something had changed. His yellow top with the black back and his dark blue pants with the lighter colored blue baggy leggings were gone. Instead they where replaced with a black hooded zip-up robe, the ones the others at Hallow Bastion where wearing.
"Were they actually so sure about me joining that they dressed me like them in my unconscious state?" Riku growled, "Did they really think I was that willing to join them as 'the lost heart of darkness'?" Riku took in closer inspection of himself to see he had a black eye and a cut on his left cheek that had long ago stopped bleeding, but left a trail of blood down his face. He wiped away the dry blood and continued walking, ignoring the pain in his left leg that caused him to walk oddly. Apparently he had other unseen injuries; he began to wonder how bad those where.
~~~~~~~~
Riku had long ago given up on looking for any dry place, finding it impossible. He sat on top of what seemed like the tallest building in the city as he watched the lightning from the storm for entertainment. Sure he was wet, cold, and was extremely vulnerable to a virus, but he didn't really care anymore. He could leave any time he wanted to, thanks to his dark powers, but something was keeping him from leaving. He had this strange felling that something bad might happen, and he might be needed. Then again it could just be the bad storm, seeing as his world was destroyed after a terrible storm. Besides, what could he do to help in his condition, and if he were to leave, where would he go?
As Riku sat there with his head leaning back, letting the rain hit his face, he could have sworn he heard heavy footsteps from below. He pushed the thought to the side thinking it was simply the rain, but he was soon proven wrong. A high-pitched scream made Riku bolt up from his relaxed position. Ignoring the pain he got up quickly and looked over the edge of the building. Down in what Riku assumed was the town square he saw a swarm of heartless and in the middle of them where two figures. One was a teenaged boy with wild shaggy blond hair and the other was a red headed girl that looked around the same age. The boy looked ready to fight off any heartless that jumped at him while the girl held onto the back of his shirt scared out of her mind.
Riku stepped up the edge and glanced down at the two. He slightly smiled thinking that staying just a little longer wasn't a bad idea after all, and that now maybe he could do some good. He decided to wait and see if he was needed, after all he didn't want to damage himself any further. Besides, he might not even be need. All at once the heartless jumped at the two, and the battle started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author: Look! Look! I got a review! *Bounces up and down*
Riku: I told you someone saw me! *Glares* And look, you even made this chapter a cliffhanger. You're evil.
Author: But if I can't make cliffhangers then what fun is it to be an author?
Riku: True, but then again, who said you where an author.
Author: *Gives Riku a hatful glare* Oh yeah! Well, who said you... you... I hate you. *Turns her back to Riku and sulks*
Riku: You weren't supposed to review! I would have felt much better if you didn't. And why are you complementing her? You're supposed to yell hateful things about her hurting me! *Gets hit with a pillow*
Author: You dork! Stop pestering my only reviewer! *Glares* Anyway, thank you very much for the review duos-deathscythe you're the best! ^-^ For any new reviewers that happen to show up-
Riku: Though I doubt any will-
Author: You need to cheek out duos-deathscythe's story "Nothing's Like Before". It's a whole lot better than mine, and Riku's it! Don't you feel special Riku?
Riku: Not real- *Gets hit by a pillow* ... Oh yes, so special... -_-
Author: So once again thanks for the review duos-deathscythe! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^-^ And to any new reviewer-
Riku: Don't push your luck. *Demon sighs and starts to sulk in her own little corner*
Chapter 1: Join us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Riku slowly opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again because of the bright light above him. 'Wait...a light?' Riku asked himself as he opened his eyes once again, and sure enough it was a light. Not the light that Mickey used on his Keyblade, but a real light that came from a light bulb. 'Mickey... Where's Mickey?' Riku's mind asked causing him to bolt up right. Riku grunted in pain as he griped onto the arm he used to push himself up. It wasn't just his arm though; his entire body ached in pain.
"Where am I?" Riku asked himself, just barely speaking above a whisper.
"Hey look! Mister darkness is finally up," A male's voice said jokingly as Riku looked around the large room. In front of him was a pair of large wooden doors, carved beautifully, and on each side of them stood a suite of armor. He continued to look around the room to find a staircase on each side of the room that met to the entrance of a hall. At the center, where the stairs met, there was a fountain with a dragon like monster spitting out water. Riku's aqua-blue eyes grew in horror as he realized this place was none other than the entrance hall to Hallow Bastion.
"W-what... how did I get here?" Riku stuttered as he slowly stood up receiving a jolt of pain from his left leg.
"You don't remember?" A males voice asked. Riku looked to his left to find a man in a black zip-up robe with a hood covering his face walking slowly down the stairs.
"I was knocked out. What do you expect me to remember?" Riku spat.
"Looks like we got ourselves a smart-ass guys," The man laughed as he reached the bottom of the stairs, smiling at the silver haired boy.
"Not another one." Riku looked to his right to find a woman looking figure walking down the stairs in the same black robe as the first one. Her hood was also pulled up so Riku couldn't see her face, but what he could see was her red lips that formed a frown on her smooth pail skin.
"Shut up!" The first one yelled.
"Did I say it was you?" She asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs. The first man scowled over at her, and Riku was sure if he could see his eyes he would have been glaring daggers at the woman.
"Both of you shut up!" Another man yelled as he walked down the staircase to the right, "Nobody wants to here you two fight right now." The man was also in a black rob, his face concealed in the hood, and behind him was another man dressed the same way.
"Nobody wants to listen to you either!" The man walking behind him spat.
"Why don't you go back to being silent, you know, the way you always are." The man in front of him growled.
"Why don't you make me?" Riku stood in silence as he watched all four of them yell at one another, and was surprised that they didn't break out into a fistfight seeing the tempers they had.
"Quite!" Riku turned around to find yet another man in a robe standing at the top of the stairs. His voice was deep and menacing, and right away Riku knew that that was the man who attacked him and Mickey.
"Who are you people?" Riku asked as he looked around at each of them. He turned back around after hearing boots slamming on the ground behind him.
"Why Riku, can't you see that you're one of us?" The man asked, now standing in front of him.
"Yeah, like family," The first guy chuckled as he draped his arm over Riku's shoulder lazily.
"I'm not one of you, and I'm definitely not your family!" Riku yelled as he shock the man's arm off of him, "If I was I would disown you." This made them all of them laugh except the one who came in fourth, only the corner of his lip twitched, showing little amusement.
"Riku," the fifth one sighed, "It's not that simple. You were destined to be one of us, and you always will be. There's no getting out of it. You are needed."
"You told me that before, but you haven't explained to me why."
"We're all like you, Riku. We are lost hearts, and together we serve the one who has saved us, the one who has a purpose for us. We're known as the Unknowns, or the lost ones, call us whatever you like." He explained, "It took us a while to find you, but our leader will be pleased that we did. Now you can take your place as 'The lost heart of Darkness'." Riku glanced around at them, hoping this was just a dream that he'd wake up from. He didn't want to be in this nightmare that was mocking him.
"No... No, I'm not one of you!" Riku yelled, "I never will be!"
"It's okay Riku, I didn't want to join at first either," The forth one said as he walked over to him, "But it's quite wonderful once you join. Our leader will increase your abilities-"
"You'll become invincible," The third one added.
"Here, take your weapon." Riku looked over at the fifth man to find his black Keyblade floating in between the man's black-gloved hands by an unseen force. Riku's eyes grew in horror as he backed away from it.
"No... I thought I got rid of that. How did you get it?"
"Our leader found it for you. Here take it."
"Get that thing away from me!" Riku shouted as he ran out of the center of the circle they had created around him, "I want nothing to do with you, or that... that memory from hell you call a weapon!"
"It's part of you Riku, get used to it," He laughed as he grabbed the handle and it disappeared. When it reappeared in Riku's hand he quickly tossed it to the ground and backed away from them even more.
Riku then remembered about the vortex that he used to use to travel around and how he wasn't able to use it in that dark world, but maybe now since he was out of that strange place he could get away from these freaks. He didn't care where he was about to go as he summoned up the power to open a ripe in this world to another, and without a word he left through the vortex he had created. The others stood there in silence, a little stunned that he had left so soon. Didn't he want answers?
"Well, that was awfully rude of him," The woman spat, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Our leader won't be very pleased in this," The fifth guy growled as he glared at the four people in front of him.
"You want me to chase after him?" The first man asked.
"No, leave him alone... for now," The man said as he turned and walked to the stairs, "We have more important things to deal with, like the plan that's in store for us." All of them fallowed the man and left the room without saying another word.
~~~~~~~~
Once Riku exited the vortex he dropped to his knees, just the sight of that Keyblade brought back horrible memories. He knew he couldn't keep the memories and thoughts away; they would always be there. They would always be a part of him, like that damn Keyblade he was cursed with. Now, on top of all of that, he was this 'lost heart of darkness' person. Would he be forever cursed with the heartless? Was there no way of escaping? Like the darkness in Kingdom Hearts, he could never escape what fate had given him, or better yet what he had given himself.
"I guess this is what I get for being so stupid." Riku cursed to himself some more as he stood and looked around at his new surroundings, "Where the hell am I now?" Riku looked up at the large, metal doors in front of him and above the doors there was a large neon sign that read "Skylight City". A bolt of lightning lit the dark night's cloudy sky fallowed by a clap of thunder. A drop of water, and then several more, hit Riku before a down poor started.
"Some skylight," Riku mumbled before he pushed one of the doors open and walked in. Immediately tall buildings lit with lights and neon signs met him. The streets were empty and some stores were closing as he passed them by. At the moment he was looking for any place he could stay that was dry, but what place could he stay at that didn't ask for munny.
As he passed by a window to one of the shops he noticed something different about him. He stopped to look at his reflection in the window, and indeed something had changed. His yellow top with the black back and his dark blue pants with the lighter colored blue baggy leggings were gone. Instead they where replaced with a black hooded zip-up robe, the ones the others at Hallow Bastion where wearing.
"Were they actually so sure about me joining that they dressed me like them in my unconscious state?" Riku growled, "Did they really think I was that willing to join them as 'the lost heart of darkness'?" Riku took in closer inspection of himself to see he had a black eye and a cut on his left cheek that had long ago stopped bleeding, but left a trail of blood down his face. He wiped away the dry blood and continued walking, ignoring the pain in his left leg that caused him to walk oddly. Apparently he had other unseen injuries; he began to wonder how bad those where.
~~~~~~~~
Riku had long ago given up on looking for any dry place, finding it impossible. He sat on top of what seemed like the tallest building in the city as he watched the lightning from the storm for entertainment. Sure he was wet, cold, and was extremely vulnerable to a virus, but he didn't really care anymore. He could leave any time he wanted to, thanks to his dark powers, but something was keeping him from leaving. He had this strange felling that something bad might happen, and he might be needed. Then again it could just be the bad storm, seeing as his world was destroyed after a terrible storm. Besides, what could he do to help in his condition, and if he were to leave, where would he go?
As Riku sat there with his head leaning back, letting the rain hit his face, he could have sworn he heard heavy footsteps from below. He pushed the thought to the side thinking it was simply the rain, but he was soon proven wrong. A high-pitched scream made Riku bolt up from his relaxed position. Ignoring the pain he got up quickly and looked over the edge of the building. Down in what Riku assumed was the town square he saw a swarm of heartless and in the middle of them where two figures. One was a teenaged boy with wild shaggy blond hair and the other was a red headed girl that looked around the same age. The boy looked ready to fight off any heartless that jumped at him while the girl held onto the back of his shirt scared out of her mind.
Riku stepped up the edge and glanced down at the two. He slightly smiled thinking that staying just a little longer wasn't a bad idea after all, and that now maybe he could do some good. He decided to wait and see if he was needed, after all he didn't want to damage himself any further. Besides, he might not even be need. All at once the heartless jumped at the two, and the battle started.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author: Look! Look! I got a review! *Bounces up and down*
Riku: I told you someone saw me! *Glares* And look, you even made this chapter a cliffhanger. You're evil.
Author: But if I can't make cliffhangers then what fun is it to be an author?
Riku: True, but then again, who said you where an author.
Author: *Gives Riku a hatful glare* Oh yeah! Well, who said you... you... I hate you. *Turns her back to Riku and sulks*
Riku: You weren't supposed to review! I would have felt much better if you didn't. And why are you complementing her? You're supposed to yell hateful things about her hurting me! *Gets hit with a pillow*
Author: You dork! Stop pestering my only reviewer! *Glares* Anyway, thank you very much for the review duos-deathscythe you're the best! ^-^ For any new reviewers that happen to show up-
Riku: Though I doubt any will-
Author: You need to cheek out duos-deathscythe's story "Nothing's Like Before". It's a whole lot better than mine, and Riku's it! Don't you feel special Riku?
Riku: Not real- *Gets hit by a pillow* ... Oh yes, so special... -_-
Author: So once again thanks for the review duos-deathscythe! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^-^ And to any new reviewer-
Riku: Don't push your luck. *Demon sighs and starts to sulk in her own little corner*